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I’m in my 15th hour of my Sunday workday. I was in bed last night at 12:30am and then up again at 4:00am… And right now, I feel like I could run twenty miles because of how amped I am after just finishing up an INCREDIBLE day at The Orchard!

This morning’s worship gatherings were awesome. So many new faces and a church full of people who LOVE and are excited about what God is doing here. All I can say is….WOW.

And now…I just wrapped up a class that I teach every couple of months called ORCHARD 101. And let me tell you… We had a great, GREAT group of people who were all so jazzed about becoming a part of this church community!

Check this out…

There was a woman in the class who is in her 80’s. Amidst a room full of young couples and singles I couldn’t help but to ask her during one of our breaks, WHY she attends our church? I said something like this, “After all, our music is loud and I’m a young guy who really doesn’t know that much…”.

And she began telling me about her spiritual journey of being a pastor’s wife for 35+ years and how she became completly turned off to chuch and religion. Finally, after about 10 years of being away from church, she found The Orchard and absolutely LOVES what she’s experiencing here.

She shared with me how much she loves the fact that ANYONE can come to this church just as they are! She loves the practical and relevant teaching. She did, however, mention that she doesn’t always like the music (perhaps it’s the U2??) But she also understands that it’s not all about her. It’s about the mission! And she is absolutely thrilled that God has brought her to our church.

And so am I.

So many stories… So many people at such different places on their spiritual journey – and it’s really one of the most beautiful things I have ever witnessed in my life.

As most of you know, last Sunday we began a new series entitled, “The Other Side”. These next few weeks we will be journeying through the scriptures to see what they have to say about the afterlife, Heaven and eternity. It’s really a fascinating subject and one that we could easily spend a HUGE amount of time on!

Start 2006 out right and join us for our First Wednesday gathering happening tonight at 7pm! Special guest, Daniel Groves and Band will be with us leading worship. It’s going to be a great night – you won’t want to miss it!